A man armed with a knife threatened gendarmes under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on February 13, 2026, before being neutralized by security forces and dying from his injuries. The suspect, Brahim B., had previously been convicted in Belgium for stabbing police officers in 2012 and was under surveillance in France.
On February 13, 2026, around 6 p.m., a man armed with a knife and a pair of scissors threatened gendarmes during the daily relighting of the Unknown Soldier's flame under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. According to sources close to the case, the individual, identified as Brahim B., born in 1978 in Mantes-la-Jolie, had earlier called the Aulnay-sous-Bois police station to announce he would 'commit a massacre' to 'avenge the women and children killed by infidels.' On site, he first hesitated to attack a female gendarme, then lunged at a male colleague, whose life was saved by his uniform. He shouted: 'You shouldn't have killed our women and children, we'll see who triumphs under the Arc de Triomphe'.
Security forces responded with gunfire, neutralizing the assailant who was taken to hospital in critical condition before dying from his injuries, the national antiterrorism prosecutor's office (PNAT) announced. It has opened an investigation, involving the antiterrorism section of the criminal brigade and the DGSI. Brahim B., a Muslim, had been sentenced in 2013 to 17 years in prison in Belgium for stabbing two police officers during a routine check in Molenbeek on June 8, 2012. Upon release, he was listed in France's Micas file, under judicial supervision, and geolocated by police.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez visited the scene and stated: 'There was a man who attempted to assault with a bladed weapon the military gendarmes and in particular the gendarmerie band preparing the ceremony.' President Emmanuel Macron expressed on X the Nation's solidarity with the injured gendarme and thoughts for the present schoolchildren as well as the members of the Flame Committee. The Place de l'Étoile was temporarily cordoned off, with an increased security presence.
